Brush Fires Rage In S. Florida Area `Braces For The Worst`

March 2, 1985|By Sid Kirchheimer, Staff Writer

The latest in a wind-whipped chain of the most damaging brush fires in state history aimed their smoke-packed fury at South Florida`s highways and recreation areas Friday, causing a series of accidents on Florida`s Turnpike and forcing officials to close a large part of the Everglades.

The fires began to seriously burden the general public after torching almost 114,000 acres of Florida wilderness since Jan. 1. Slightly more than half of that damage has been in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, officials said.

Friday, the fires resulted in:

(BU) Three accidents involving 37 vehicles, including a 32-car pileup, on a two-mile stretch of the turnpike. Fourteen people were injured, one seriously.

(BU) A state mandate to keep the public out of hundreds of thousands of acres in the Everglades to protect the environmentally sensitive area.

(BU) Complaints from at least seven people in western Broward to the county`s Environmental Quality Control about minor respiratory problems.

``We`re bracing for the worst,`` said Dave Sinclair, area supervisor for the state Division of Forestry, which is charged with battling the raging brush fires. ``We are in extreme fire danger and will continue to be in that condition until we get some significant rainfall.``

Division of Forestry spokeswoman Jodi Chase said Friday a record dry spell contributed to making this year`s brush fires the worst in Florida history.

``We have already had twice as much acreage burned as usual and 1/2 times as many fires,`` she said.

Statewide, more than 3,300 fires have destroyed 113,580 acres of land since Jan. 1 -- some 60,000 acres in Broward, Dade and Palm Beach counties, Chase reported. ``It`s never been this bad.``

And the South Florida Water Management District said the dry weather has put South Florida in a ``pre-drought`` condition.

``The water level has been below normal since August, but we`re not terming it a drought condition,`` said district official Sheila Middaugh. ``We`re calling it a pre-drought condition in the eastern portion of South Florida, although we may implement some water restrictions on the west coast later this month.``

Meanwhile, no rain is in the immediate forecast for Florida, which on Thursday set a new record for its driest winter season ever, said National Weather Service forecasters.

``It`s the driest winter ever measured (by the National Weather Service),`` said Malcolm Lacy, head of the service`s West Palm Beach office. ``And we`ve been measuring since 1939.``

During this winter season -- from Dec. 1 to Feb. 28 -- South Florida received only 1 1/2 inches of rain, the smallest amount since 2.01 inches fell during the winter of 1970-71, Lacy said.

``Typically, we average 7.59 inches of rain during the three months of the winter season,`` he added.

According to weather statistics, the last ``soaking`` rainfall -- 1.32 inches -- occurred Nov. 30 at Miami International Airport, shortly before the first major brush fires began.

In Fort Lauderdale, the last ``significant`` rainfall -- a half-inch -- occurred Jan. 18, and in Palm Beach County, a half-inch fell Feb. 20, said Andrew Stern, a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center in Coral Gables.

Forecasters estimate that at least a half-inch of rain is needed to help slow down the quick movement of the brush fires, which are being fueled by brisk 13- to 16-mph winds from the southeast.

The lack of rain has made a bad situation worse.

``First the crop freeze just freeze-dried the vegetation and brush and then the winds and dry air just turned everything into something of a tinderbox,`` Stern said.

No new major fires were reported Friday and Sinclair said foresters were still concentrating their efforts on containing a fire burning since Feb. 3 on within a 7,000-acre barricade just seven miles west of Miami International Airport.

``We`re using roads and canals as perimeters,`` he said. ``We have a lot of muck burning, a lot of vegetation. There are little pockets lighting up everywhere. There seem to be fewer fires burning now than before, but we`ll have smoking and smoldering until we get some decent rains.``

Before Friday, most of the smoky fires were west of the Turnpike and residential areas, causing no great alarm to the general public because winds were spreading them farther west.

But now, officials said, more fires are being spotted east of the turnpike. Still, no residential areas in danger.

Meanwhile, at the urging of Sinclair`s office, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission on Friday issued an emergency order to close the Everglades to the public.

``We have a very dangerous situation down in the Everglades,`` said Sinclair. ``The water level is so low, the muck soil could burn, destroying parts of the conservation area. We are trying to avoid muck burns. People come in and start fires and it could destroy everything.``

Although major recreational areas such as Sawgrass and Holiday parks remain open, the state ordered all of Conservation Areas 2A and 2B in Broward County, all of Conservation Area 3A north of Alligator Alley, and 90 percent of that area south of Alligator Alley. These swamplands will be closed until the rain comes, officials said.